Often, on these pages, you may read a reference to a particular book, leaflet, source or facility we have refered to or quoted from.

Here you will find further details of that source. Whereas Oystertown is a free internet based resource there is nothing that gives more pleasure than owning a copy of a book that gives details or a picture of your ancestor or where they lived.

Oystertown is totally committed to encouraging the sale of as many of these volumes as possible, even though we do not sell them ourselves being a non-commercial organisation. The reasons behind this are various:

• The more that are sold the more likely their authors, or publishers, will produce more.
• Anything that spreads this information is good for Whitstable and Oystertown.net.
• They are a great gift for newer generations who may never know the town.
• They are a part of the town's heritage and must be preserved and cared for.

Many of the older books are no longer in print. Sometimes you will find them in old bookshops or in auctions such as Ebay. Because of their rarety these may be purchased by book collectors and filed away in collections, never to be used for the reason they were produced. Whilst this increases their monetary value it deprives descendants of Whitstable people the opportunity to own a little bit of Whitstable history. When this is the case, and copyright laws permitting, Oystertown will endeavour to transcribe these books onto the site. If sufficient interest is forthcoming it may be possible for us to arrange a reprint or fascimile copy of a book to enable future purchase.

The Merchant Ships of Whitstable. by Wallace Harvey. Emprint Publications. First printed 1993. ISBN 1 871716 04 7. Details and pictures of many of the hundreds of Merchant ships owned by Whitstable people in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. If any of your ancestors were Whitstable mariners then you have to own this book.